The present invention relates to a tape cutter device for cutting an adhesive tape including a tape substrate coated with an adhesive layer and a separable sheet laid on the adhesive layer.
In conventional tape cutter devices for cutting the adhesive tape with such a separable sheet, one specific type adapted for cutting only the tape substrate is well known as a half-cut type tape cutter device. This half-cut type tape cutter device is for example disclosed in a Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. 47-16105.
In the case where a portion of the tape near to one end thereof is subjected to the half-cut operation of the tape cutter device, the tape is divided into two sections, a first section being defined between the one end of the tape and the cut portion and a second section being defined between the other end (not shown) of the tape and the cut portion. The first section and the second section are separated from each other at their tape substrate portions and their adhesive layer portions, but are continuously connected with each other at their separable sheet portions. The tape substrate and the adhesive layer of the first section thus defined between the one end of the tape and the cut portion will be referred to as a "half-cut piece", hereinafter.
The thus formed half-cut piece will serve as means for facilitating separation of the separable sheet from the tape substrate when an user desires to separate the separable sheet from the tape substrate. That is, when the user desires to separate the separable sheet from the tape substrate, the user first takes up the half-cut piece. Then, the user pulls up the half-cut piece in a direction in which the separable sheet faces, with holding the tape substrate of the above-described second section. As a result, the separable sheet can be easily and certainly separated from the tape substrate.
The half-cut operation of the conventional cutter device of the above-mentioned Japanese reference will be described below. The cutter device employs a stepped plate for receiving a blade of the cutter. This stepped plate is so figured that a first stepped portion is contactable with a cutter blade but a second stepped portion is not contactable with the cutter blade when the stepped plate receives the blade.
The adhesive tape is first placed on the stepped plate with the separable sheet thereof facing the stepped plate. Then, the cutter blade is moved toward the tape so that the cutter blade reaches the first stepped portion, and then the cutter blade is moved away from the tape. As a result, the tape substrate and the adhesive laye are cut completely, but the separable sheet is cut incompletely. Thus, only the tape substrate coated with the adhesive layer is cut, and therefore the so-called half-cut action is achieved.
However, in the conventional cutter device, while the adhesive tape is being subjected to the half-cut operation, a cut end surface of the tape is in contact with a surface of the cutter blade. Therefore, a cut end surface of the half-cut piece is in contact with one surface of the cutter blade. The cut end surface of the half-cut piece includes a cut end surface of the tape substrate and a cut end surface of the adhesive layer of the half-cut piece. Therefore, the cut end surface of the adhesive layer of the half-cut piece contacted with the surface of the cutter blade is liable to stick to the surface of the cutter blade, due to adhesive force of the cut end surface of the adhesive layer relative to the surface of the cutter blade. Therefore, when the cutter blade is lifted upwardly after when the cutter blade performs the half-cut operation, the half-cut piece stuck to the cutter blade is also lifted upwardly together with the cutter blade, to thereby be separated from the separable sheet. As a result, the half-cut piece remains inside the tape cutter device, when the tape which has been subjected to the half-cut operation is taken away from the cutter device. The half-cut piece thus remaining in the cutter device causes some troubles in succeeding cutting work.